I absolutely adore spending a rainy afternoon in a local art gallery. I become swept into the emotions of each painting, each sculpture. I always end up leaving feeling refreshed and cathartic.

Here are my top nine favorite works of cathartic art :

1. Banksy's Flower Girl. If you haven't watched "Exit Through the Giftshop," I have plans for you! This painter is incredibly mysterious.

2. Gwen Murphy, Shoe Fetish. My sister and I have always said that everyone is like a different shoe. I believe her to be very "Ked-like," while she maintains that I am a wedged sandal. These sculptures speak to that.

3. John Singer Sargeant. Mr And Mrs Isaac Newton Phelps Stokes, 1897. I like that this painting was forseeing women's liberty so early on. The facial expressions of the subjects are just so true.

4. Jacques-Louis David - The Death of Marat. One of the most famous of powerful paintings, this image captures the true sorrow involved in losing a loved one.

5. Sad by Antonio Mora Diez. There is no real way to describe how this image makes me feel. However, on too many levels, I can relate.

6. Andrew Wyeth, Christina's World. I could spend hours just engulfed in the beauty of his work. There is something so beautifully haunting about this painting.

7. Symbiosis by Marta Orlowska. It is so profoundly true- we work symbiotically with the creatures in our lives. We provide them with love and care while they bring us a level of joy and comfort we would not otherwise recognize.

8. Kevin Sloan, Consequences of Hypnosis. The realism combined with playfulness and whimsy really captures me. His work is incredible. I have spent hours indulging in his art.

9. Francois Schuitten, Comic Art. My heart sunk when I saw this. I wanted to scream, "Don't do it!" while helplessly waiting for what is next. This image shows the true characteristics of cats and dogs- the feline sits unphased while the dog panics.